Jindal Affirms Belief in Private Sector as Key to Recovery

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal asserted his conservative beliefs while dismissing complains about his public speaking skills during an appearance Thursday night on FOX News' "Hannity."

Jindal, in the interview with host Sean Hannity, was responding to criticism from Democrats, as well as some fellow Republicans, over his performance last week delivering the GOP response to President Obama's first address to Congress.

Political commentators, comics and bloggers have called Jindal's speech simplistic, too "sing-songy" and out of step with the American public, though Jindal stands by it.

"The president is a very gifted speaker, and I certainly think he's a better speaker than I am," he told Hannity. "I'm not the only one that thinks that.

"But ... I hope that people would look beyond just the delivery and actually look at the content. I was outlining a contrasting vision for the country."

Jindal, a rising star in the Republican party and often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, then criticized the economic policies of Obama and the Democrat-controlled congress and their "bloated" spending plans.

"This is a real philosophical debate about how do we move our country forward," Jindal said. "One side agrees with government spending and expansion. We believe in growing the private sector."

In his speech last week, Jindal criticized the president's $787 billion economic stimulus package as laden with unnecessary spending that had been added by a Democratic Congress. He talked of the need to cut taxes and limit government spending at a time when polls show a majority of Americans are looking to the federal government to reverse the economic downturn.

The 37-year-old governor offered his first defense of the speech Monday, saying he sticks by the message, while acknowledging shortcomings in his delivery.

"What's important to me is the content. I'm a policy guy. You guys know that," Jindal told reporters in the state Capitol, a day after returning from a family vacation. "I've always been a policy guy, always will be a policy guy. The ideas are important. The substance is important."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.